The Palau de les Arts begins the II Festival del Mediterrani, dedicated to Wagner's work The Ring of the Nibelung, with the premiere of The Twilight of the Gods.

Under the name "South of the Rhine", a full program of activities will be offered, including recitals, lectures, screenings, a concert and outdoor shows.

Valencia (08-05-09).- The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía will begin the second edition of the Festival del Mediterrani, presided over by Zubin Mehta, on May 30 with the premiere of the opera Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods).

Under the title "South of the Rhine," the Valencian arts center will offer a comprehensive program centered around Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), considered the ultimate example of a total work of art. This marks the first time a Spanish opera house has presented two complete cycles of its own production of the Wagnerian tetralogy.

Der Ring des Nibelungen is a co-production of the Palau de les Arts and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. This staging by La Fura dels Baus, with musical direction by Zubin Mehta, has garnered significant international acclaim, including the Franco Abbiati Prize from Italian music critics and the award for best production of the year at the Teatro Campoamor Lyric Awards. Furthermore, major European media outlets have unanimously recognized the production's quality, both for its staging and its musical merit.

The casts for the four parts of Wagner's Ring Cycle (Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung) feature renowned names from the Wagnerian repertoire, all of whom garnered critical and public acclaim at their respective premieres at the Palau de les Arts. Singers of the caliber of Matti Salminen, Juha Uusitalo, Jennifer Wilson, Lance Ryan, Franz-Josef Kapellmann, Stephen Milling, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Torsten Kerl, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, and Elisabete Matos will bring to life the mythical universe that the great German composer created for this work, which took him 26 years to complete. The tenor Plácido Domingo also participates in this cast, singing the role of Siegmund in the performance of Die Walküre on June 24.

For its part, La Fura dels Baus proposes a staging that integrates the scenic elements and resources that Wagner himself designed, along with avant-garde components such as video projections, light effects, multimedia costumes and impressive displays of human architecture, in keeping with the mythological aspect of the Tetralogy.

The II Festival del Mediterrani will be a true monograph about The Ring of the Nibelung, turning the city of Valencia into the nerve center of international Wagnerism.

This year's program encompasses a full range of activities, including recitals featuring compositions by authors who preceded and followed Richard Wagner, performed by leading figures in opera, such as mezzo-soprano Catherine Wyn-Rogers and baritone Albert Dohmen, as well as Valencian pianists Claudio Carbó, Carles Marín, Jordi Nogués, and Antonio Galera.

The figure of the German genius and his legacy will also be the subject of study in roundtables and lectures. And with the aim of exploring Wagner's work at the twilight of European culture, the Valencian cultural center will screen Fritz Lang's film Die Nibelungen in its entirety, divided into four parts due to its length. Each screening will be preceded by piano transcriptions and paraphrases of Richard Wagner's music. This will be the first time these versions have been presented in their entirety in Spain.

The "furera" adaptation of the Tetralogy will also be the subject of an exhibition, in addition to an open-air show, "Anell de Llum", which, after last year's success, will once again bring scenic and musical fragments of the Valencian Ring to all audiences.

Zubin Mehta will also conduct the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana at the Auditori in a concert featuring works by Haydn, Mozart, and Schubert. The program, which pays tribute to Joseph Haydn on the bicentenary of his death, will include a performance by pianist Jue Wang, the recent winner of the Santander International Piano Competition. Wang will be the soloist in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major, K. 595. Another rising star of the piano, the Spanish pianist Javier Perianes, will give a recital on June 23 with works by Brahms, Schubert, and Chopin. Advance general ticket sales for these events will begin next Friday, May 15, at 6:00 p.m., following a priority purchase period on May 12, 13, 14, and 15, exclusively for season ticket holders.